Tag: Circul8

Be one of the first to gain exclusive access to Richard I’Anson’s first online course.

Expand My Worldis an online learning portal that connects usersdirectly to the minds of those at the absolute pinnacle of their craft. Students learn from world class professionals, visionaries and masters of their field.

The site officially launches this week, kicking off with a 21 session course on Travel Photography taught by Canon Master, Richard I’Anson. Richard is the author of Lonely Planet’s Guide to Travel Photography, was one of five photographers to be featured in the award winning series Tales by Light, originally broadcast on National Geographic TV and now screening globally on Netflix and will also be broadcast on Channel 10 on Sunday. Richard has also published 13 books in association with Lonely Planet.

The Travel Photography course is for enthusiast photographers, people who want to get better images from their camera and also people interested in a career in travel photography. Richard will open the vault on all he has learnt during his highly successful career which spans more than 35 years. This is an opportunity for students to experience his journey from one photograph to the next, learn his philosophies and gain valuable insights into exactly how he works his craft. Richard’s course is available now for USD$259 at www.expandmy.world.

Each class will include 4-5 hours of video lessons broken down into 20 easy to follow sessions, interactive assignments and access to a community where you can get valuable feedback from experts and also key insights from the masters themselves. The learning materials are available ‘on-demand’ meaning students can log on from anywhere and learn at their own pace.

Expand My World is the brainchild of Alana Stocks, founder of award-winning digital agency, Circul8. Alana says of the new business venture, “Education is evolving and people crave inspiring and quality resources that they can access from anywhere. Expand My World gives all students no matter where they are in the world the opportunity to learn from world-class visionaries who are living the life they want to lead in careers they’re passionate about.

“To launch Expand My World with Richard I’Anson as our first mentor is extremely exciting and it paves the way for what’s to come from the platform.”

Richard says of his involvement “To be able to share my knowledge, experience and favourite images with people all over the world who are keen to improve their own photography through my online course is extremely rewarding, I really do enjoy helping people become better photographers.”

Travel Photography is just the first cab off the rank for Expand My World, with many other insightful and exceptional mentors and courses to come. Watch this space as the platform continues to grow, inviting people to ignite their passions and learn from world class professionals from the comfort of their own homes, on their own schedules.

Expand My World is offering a 40% discount off Richard’s Travel Photography course until 21 August 2018. Enrolments must be made via the Expand My World website and using the promo code LAUNCH40 at checkout.

For a long time at Circul8, we felt like something was missing. We kept stuffing ourselves with French pastries and cakes but the void remained. That’s when we realised we needed to fill the empty space of our entrance. We wanted to do something special and give back at the same time…

While we love to work globally, our values are firmly based locally. We wanted to showcase Australia’s most talented artists on our wall. The call was put out and the very talented Gosia Lapinski answered…

Behold… the new face of Circul8.

Artwork by Gosia Lapinski

A tribute on canvas to commemorate our securing of a one year marketing partnership with Japan Tourism. The three elegant cranes perfectly symbolises our productive relationship with our valued client and we couldn’t be more chuffed with the result.

Stay tuned. We plan to showcase a new piece of art from a new artist every 6 months. To be our next resident picasso, show us what you can do by emailing artshowcase@circul8.com.au.

Our wall is now your wall. It’s our way of adding a little more colour to the already colourful South Downing Street (shout out to the dancing man with the boom box, don’t ever change).

Facebook’s notorious algorithm undergoes another transformation to return to what it first promised: to connect you with friends.

When you hear the word ‘algorithm’, it’s easy to be overwhelmed with imagery of numbers, algebra and the cast of The Big Bang Theory. Sure the first two are correct, but these days you don’t see too many nerd stereotypes from the 1980s walking around Palo Alto, do you?

Facebook’s algorithm is one of the most famous mathematical processes in popular culture. Many of us imagine it as a faceless figure, laughing maniacally as it plucks the dog selfies out of your timeline and casts them into oblivion. While we can confirm it is faceless (it’s just code guys, not a demigod) it actually is trying to show you puppers rather than your ex-boyfriend’s new baby.

First launched in 2006 to create a central News Feed (which is now a pinnacle of the platform), the algorithm has been updated numerous times since Facebook exploded to over one billion users.

Back in 2006, Facebook users shared EVERYTHING. From what they were eating for lunch to how they felt after their latest break-up (life hack: DON’T be that person), oversharing was commonplace on the platform.

Fast forward to 2014 and people were well and truly over seeing everyone’s dirty laundry. So much so that the majority of users were no longer using Facebook as a place to share personal updates.

In order to keep information circulating, Facebook updated the algorithm to prioritise Pages. This made the News Feed show more content from companies, news sources and brands that people liked, rather than the latest photo album from your co-worker’s boring family holiday in Geelong.

From here, the algorithm was updated again with new calculations to reduce clickbait, monitor how long you were spending hovering over an update and to prioritise video content over other mediums, such as photos or text status updates.

Time hop to 2016 and we’re back to square one (but with a better smartphone). The News Feed is, once again, going to do what Facebook always claimed to do: connect you with your pals. This is great news for users, but what about advertisers?

The bad news is if you manage, or are trying to grow, a page with limited engagement and reach then this new update is going to affect your performance. Even Facebook’s VP of Product Management for News Feed, Adam Mosseri, admitted that “I’d expect reach for publishers to go down a small amount but a noticeable amount”.

To combat this problem, brands will have to turn to less sales-focused and click-driven content and think outside the box. Increasing discussion on your page, through methods such as engaging directly with your audience or word-of-mouth influencer marketing campaigns, are two ways to continue to improve reach and engagement without relying on the algorithm.

If you happen to manage a page that’s in the minority and enjoys high organic reach and engagement, then you should expect to see minimal disruptions.

What do you think the new algorithm has in store for your brand? Are you concerned? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Here’s what the girls had to say when we finally found some free time in their busy schedules:

1. How long have you been working in social, and what do you LOVE about it most?

Laura: 3 years. I love how close it has brought everyone online, and how transparent it makes companies.

Amanda: I’ve been working in social for over a year and the best thing about it is contributing to the big pool of great content, with great content of your own!

2. What’s an app that you can’t live without, and why?

Amanda: Instagram – because what kind of aesthetic-obsessed social (media) butterfly would I be if I didn’t?!

Laura: Snapchat. It’s my main form of communication and how I keep in touch with my family back in New Zealand. Even my 66-year-old Dad uses it!

3. What do you enjoy most about digital marketing?

Laura: How innovative it is, how fast it evolves, and the analytics and insights you have access to.

Amanda: That it’s constantly evolving and looking for ways to make conversations between advertisers and consumers more mutually beneficial. That’s something that traditional advertising was never really able to do as cost effectively as social/digital can.

4. What do you think the next big thing is in social media?

Amanda: Personalised emojis! Seriously, how is this not a thing yet?

Laura: A one stop shop where you can do everything… including going on a tropical holiday! Imagine!

5. Where are your top 3 travel destinations?

Laura: Anywhere that’s hot, sunny and sandy.

Amanda: Japan, The Whitsundays and the Greek Isles.

6. Where could we find you on a Saturday?

Amanda: On my couch on a full Netflix binge, doing the Bondi to Coogee walk or dancing to some old school hip hop and rnb.